Sing The Blues
by LeaO'Neill
Summary: Lem deals with a tough situation....Chapter 3 now Up!
1. Default Chapter

The Shield: Sing The Blues  
  
(Characters of The Shield do not belong to me; they are property of FX and their creators)  
Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemanski woke up in a good mood. It was amazing how having a beautiful, intelligent woman next to you all night could do that. Lem, as he was called by most, had been dating Michelle Sutton for almost three months. Lately, they shared space more often than not.  
  
Michelle was a beautiful 24 year old auburn haired beauty, originally from Santa Barbara. She'd moved to LA to finish nursing school. She'd had her job as a nurse at St Augustine's Hospital for the past two years. She worked in the surgical recovery room and post op. That's where she had met Lem, when Ronnie was getting his surgeries done after his face had been burned.  
  
Michelle had been cold at first, never cracking a smile while Lem grinned at her as she took Ronnie's vital signs. She'd always worn her hair up and loose fitting scrubs, but Lem saw past all that. He saw how beautiful she would be with a little makeup and wearing street clothes, her hair down with a smile. He saw the potential when he looked into her sea green eyes. It intrigued him.  
Finally, after a week of rebuffing his endeavors, Lem had followed her to the cafeteria.  
  
While Michelle picked out a ready made entrée, salad and drink, Lem carried her tray.  
  
"So why don't you like me?" hew persisted. "I'm a real likable guy."  
  
She passed her ID card through the checkout card reader. "It's not that I don't like you," she's admitted.  
  
He followed her through the milling doctors and nurses to an empty table. They both sat down.  
  
"Okay, so you might like me just a little," Lem went on. "Good start. Married? Boyfriend?"  
  
She shook her head while putting a straw in her Coke.  
  
"Lesbian?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "No."  
  
Lem grinned and shrugged. "So what's the problem? Just go out with me once. It won't kill you."  
  
"I don't like cops," she finally said, picking over her salad.  
  
"You don't like cops?" he repeated. "You don't look like a criminal. You're not wanted are you?" he kept up his prodding jokingly.  
  
For the first time, Michelle cracked a hint of a smile. "No."  
  
"So, seriously, what is it?"  
  
"I see so many of you guys come through, like your friend, or worse. I see their families, their loved ones. I could never handle that."  
  
Lem nodded. "Okay. That's fair. I've been on the job 6 years. I've never even had a paper cut."  
  
"That doesn't mean it won't happen."  
  
"No. It doesn't. But if I went around waiting for the bullet with my name on it, what kind of life would that be? I know something could happen, but I don't dwell on it. I just live. I'm not planning on anything happening to me."  
  
"Was your friend Ronnie?" she asked quizzically.  
  
He sighed. "Okay, I get your point." He looked at her full lips and slim nose. "Well, I'll leave you alone." He got up sticking his hands in the pockets of his loose Hilfiger jeans. He gave her a final "look".  
  
Michelle took one glance at his 'puppy dog' eyes and lost her cool composure. She finally smiled up at him.  
  
"Curtis, is it?"  
  
"Most people call me Lem."  
  
"Well, you're real persistent."  
  
He grinned.  
  
"And you've got real nice teeth."  
  
"Does that mean you'll have dinner with me?"  
  
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll go out with you."  
  
*******  
  
And those words had led up to the shower they now shared. Both were early risers due to work; Michelle worked from 7 am until 7 pm and Lem had to be at the Barn at 7 as well. They'd spent the night at Michelle's condo, so Lem had called Shane to pick him up. Lem and Michelle kissed goodbye in the parking lot as Shane pulled up. Then Michelle, in her ark pink nurses' scrubs, got into her Honda Civic and pulled out.  
  
Lem got into Shane's Chevy truck.  
  
"That woman has entirely too many brains to have an ass that good," Shane remarked, looking over his sunglasses.  
  
Lem shot him a look. "Hey," he said.  
  
"Getting a little possessive? Must be serious."  
  
Lem shrugged. "I just don't need any competition looking at it."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I've seen that look before. You're in deep buddy."  
  
Lem laughed. "What ever."  
The Strike Team was only Shane, Lem and Ronnie; Vic had taken the day off for personal business. Only his friends knew that business was a court appearance with Corrine.  
  
They managed to pull in a few outstanding warrants and fill up the cage in the barn.  
  
It was after seven when all the paperwork involving their warrant cases was wrapping up.  
  
"Geez, I gotta go," Lem told Shane and Ronnie. "Michelle's waiting for me to take her to a movie."  
  
"Shit, can't you log in the arrests first?" Shane grumbled. "I've still got files to close out."  
  
"It's not my fault you pricks don't have a life," Lem said good naturedly.  
  
"Go on," Ronnie told him. "I'll finish up."  
  
"Thanks man," Lem said, grabbing his jacket.  
Michelle had finished her shift and given report to Lisa, the night nurse. She got her things and left the unit.  
  
She took the elevator to the parking structure. She dug in her purse for her keys as she walked into the dimly lit interior parking garage. As she neared the section where her car was parked, she noticed the light was out in the sector.  
  
"Great," she muttered, walking a little faster.  
  
She was almost to her car when a shadowy figure stepped out from behind a parked car where he'd been crouched.  
  
He grabbed Michelle's arm.  
  
She was too startled to scream.  
  
"Don't make a sound," he commanded, muffled by the ski mask that covered his lower face, leaving only eyes exposed.  
  
She couldn't even if she's wanted to. She instead tried to hand him her purse.  
  
"I don't want you bag, bitch," he growled. He had a thick Mexican accent. He pulled her by the arm into the deeper shadows between the cars.  
  
Now Michelle began to fear for her life. She tried to remember anything she'd ever seen on TV that might save her. But her mind was dizzy. She tried to pull away from the strong grip, but that just angered the man. He stopped and backhanded her, knocking her down onto the cold concrete. She tasted salty blood on her lips.  
  
Lem got to Michelle's condo. He used the key she'd given him to get in when he knocked and there was no answer. He saw at once that she had not been home. He found that a little odd, since her gated condo complex was only a few minutes from work. He first checked the messages on his cell phone to see if she'd called. There were none. Then he dialed her cell.  
  
Michelle heard her cell phone ringing. She could see it a few feet away with the rest of the contents of her purse spilled out under a car. She was numb from the cold concrete under her body. But that was all she wanted to feel. It was the least of the revolting feelings invading her mind and body.  
  
Lem called the nurses' station on Michelle's unit. Maybe she'd had to work over.  
  
"No, she didn't stay late," Lisa told him. "She left on time."  
  
"Did she say she was going anywhere else?" Lem asked.  
  
"No. In fact, she mentioned you two had plans so she was going home to get ready."  
  
"Can you have security check for her car? I'm on my way over."  
  
"Yeah, of course. Maybe she had car trouble, or a flat or something."  
  
"Okay, can you call me back if she shows up?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Lem gave Lisa his cell number.  
******  
Lem was almost at the hospital. He looked at all the convenience stores and gas stations along the way, but had seen no sign on Michelle's car. His cell phone rang.  
  
"Lemanski," he answered.  
  
It was Lisa. "They found Michelle," she said, her voice quavering. "You better go straight to the ER."  
  
Lem ran into the emergency Room and to the clerk behind a bullet proof glass window. He flashed his badge.  
  
"Michelle Sutton," he said to the woman.  
  
She hit a button on her desk and the door buzzed to let him in. He went into the triage station.  
  
A nurse and a security officer, whose badge read Wallace, Chief of Security met him there.  
  
"Detective Lemanski?" the older security officer asked.  
  
"Yeah. Where's Michelle? Is she ok?"  
  
"My officers found Ms Sutton in the parking garage. She's been assaulted."  
  
"Assaulted? Are you saying she was raped?" The nurse, whose badge read Irene, nodded. "She was beaten and raped. She's in with an officer from the Sheriff's Department and the SANE nurse taking the rape kit now."  
  
The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner was one of the key factors in making a case. They were specifically trained just for this kind of case.  
  
"Did they find the guy? Can she ID him?"  
  
The Chief of security shook his head. "We didn't find anyone."  
  
"What about witnesses, cameras?"  
  
The man shook his head again. "I'm sorry detective. If you'd like to wait in my office, Irene can come get you as soon as they are finished with Ms Sutton."  
*****  
Lem paced outside the ER cubicle where Michelle was. The Sheriff's department deputy had already left, taking the information Michelle gave with her. Lem had gotten little information, as he knew he would, from the deputy. But that was fine. He had every intention of taking this his way.  
  
Finally, the doctor who'd been in with Michelle and the SANE nurse came out and shook Lem's hand.  
  
"I'm Dr Murphy," the female doctor introduced herself. "I've known Michelle as long as she's been here."  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"Well, she'd got a lot of facial and torso bruising, but there appears to be no internal bleeding or injury and no broken bones. Unfortunately, the standard hit and run. I'm seeing a lot of this in the ER. All the physical evidence was collected and turned over to the S.O."  
  
"What.I mean, what happens now?"  
  
"I want to keep her overnight. She's getting some IV antibiotics as a precaution and she'll be getting some other preventative medications. For now, that's all we can do. The rest is psychological. She'll be referred to an excellent rape counselor. I'd suggest you go as well."  
  
Lem nodded. "Can I see her?"  
  
Dr Murphy nodded. "Go on in. As soon as I finish her paperwork, she'll be moved into a room."  
  
Lem took a breath and walked inside. He'd tried to prepare himself for the worst.  
  
Michelle looked small against the all white on the bed. She had her knees drawn up. Her left cheek and eye were a dark purple and her bottom lip was swollen. But mostly she just looked vacant. Her eyes were red from crying.  
  
Lem walked slowly and stood by the bed.  
  
Michelle's eyes followed him. "Hi," she finally said.  
  
"Hi." He was uncomfortable and awkward. He had no idea what to say to her. "Can I do anything?"  
  
She nodded. "Get the bastard."  
  
Lem chewed him bottom lip. That was exactly the plan. When Michelle saw that in his eyes, she was able to draw some comfort there.  
********  
Shane had eaten cold pizza and a beer for dinner. He'd been too tired to even work out on his weights that sat in the dining room where a table should have been. He was half asleep on the couch in front of the TV when he heard someone banging on the door.  
  
He went to get it and was surprised to see Lem.  
  
"Hey," he said, stepping back to let his partner in. "What's up?" He could tell that something was wrong. Lem didn't look good.  
  
"Michelle. She was raped."  
  
"Holy shit. When?"  
  
"Tonight, leaving work."  
  
"She know the guy?"  
  
Lem shook his head. "He was wearing a mask. I talked to her though; she thinks there was something familiar about him, a smell like soap or something."  
  
"Who's on the case?"  
  
"Pointer from the SO."  
  
"Crap."  
  
"Exactly. All Michelle can give is that he's 20-30, probably Hispanic, dark skin, brown eyes, black hair."  
  
"So you want to track this asshole?"  
  
Lem nodded. "I don't know what else to do for her."  
  
Shane shrugged. "Well I'll help, you know that. Vic's back tomorrow, it's our day off. We'll get on it first thing in the morning."  
  
Lem nodded. "Thanks man."  
  
"You should try and get some sleep. Stay here if you want."  
  
"Thanks, but I better get back to the hospital. I promised her. I'll take her home in the morning, then we'll get on it."  
  
"This shit usually starts close. We'll check out the hospital, employees. Start with the Mexicans, run them, see if there's any rap sheet hits."  
  
"I'll catch up with you as soon as I get her settled."  
  
Shane nodded as Lem went to the door. "I got your back brother."  
  
"I know. Thanks again, man." 


	2. Chapter Two

Shane started early following up on Lem's information. He tracked down a buddy in the Sheriff's office and got a copy of Deputy Pointer's notes: not much to work with there. The description Lem had relayed lat night, details of the attack provided by Michelle, and physical evidence found at the scene.  
  
Shane would first go to the hospital and get an employee roster. From there, he'd run all the Hispanic employees for previous charges from domestic abuse, rape, stalking and anything that might relate. Once the list was narrowed down, he'd start digging around at the hospital.  
  
Lem had spent a restless night in a chair in Michelle's room. She hadn't spoken much and he couldn't find words to try and make her feel better, so there had been a lot of silence, luckily Michelle had slept.  
  
While she was being examined again before she was discharged, Lem went to the waiting area and called Shane.  
  
"Hey it's me. You getting anywhere?"  
  
"Yeah," Shane answered. "I'm over at South with Stevie. She's running the names I got from the hospital employee list. I didn't want to go to the barn, you know, to keep things quiet."  
  
"Yeah, thanks man. I'm getting ready to take Michelle home, then I'll give you a call."  
  
Michelle was ready to go when he returned. She had dressed in the gray sweat pants and long tee shirt he'd brought her last night. She moved slowly, as every step was painful.  
  
"You ready?" he asked as he saw her glance at the plastic bag that contained what possessions of hers had been released by the Sheriff's office.  
  
She nodded.  
  
A nurse came then to wheel her out to Lem's waiting car.  
  
As he helped her in, she glanced around. "What about my car?" She asked.  
  
"I'll have Shane pick me up at your place. We'll being it back." Once they were on the road, Michelle gave Lem a grateful look.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm not much company. But I'm really glad you're here. You're real good at taking care of things."  
  
Lem gave her a slight smile. "Hey, I'm gonna take care of you as long as you need me to. Anything you need."  
  
She nodded. After another moment, "Maybe you can help me find a new job."  
  
He glanced at her as he came to a stop at the red light.  
  
"You're going to quit?"  
  
She nodded. "I don't think I can go back there."  
  
"Michelle, we're going to get the one that did this."  
  
"Still, I just don't think I can."  
  
He understood. "Well, there's plenty of time for that."  
  
At her condo, Lem watched without saying anything as Michelle double- checked all the locks on the doors and windows. He knew she was still terrified and nothing he could do would change that. That was hard for him. He wanted to fix it, to make it all better. But he also knew that was impossible. He didn't know how she was going to react to anything he might do or say, so he just stood.  
  
"Why don't you get some rest?" he suggested. "I've got to go to work for awhile, but I'll be back this evening, Okay?"  
  
Michelle got a momentary deer in the headlights look in her eyes. She knew she was terrified of being alone, but she also knew she would have to face her fears.  
  
"Okay," she agreed, hoping he didn't see through her act. But of course he did.  
  
"Can I.touch you?" he asked then, afraid of either hurting her or frightening her. But he knew he had to start somewhere. He wanted her to know that she was safe with him.  
  
Michelle nodded. She'd been afraid he would ask and even more afraid that he wouldn't. She didn't know if he blamed her, like she blamed herself. She didn't know if he thought less of her.so many thoughts ran through her mind.  
  
Lem put his strong arms around her then, drawing her close, holding her and smoothing her hair. Michelle held on to him like a drowning woman, feeling that if he let go, she would falter and sink into her terror and helplessness. And she finally broke down. Not since the attack had she cried. Now hot tears spilled from her eyes until they became wracking sobs. All the while, Lem held her and whispered words he hoped would be of some comfort.  
  
Finally, Michelle could cry no more and was exhausted. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Lem picked her up easily, just as he had only days before, and carried her to the bedroom. Although this time there was no passion, just comfort.  
  
He put her to bed and drew up the comforter around her. He kissed her forehead.  
  
"I'll be back soon," he promised. "Get some sleep."  
  
Michelle was too tired to protest. She nodded and drew the covers tighter. Her eyes were closed before Lem even left the room.  
Shane was waiting downstairs when Lem finally got there.  
  
"How's she doing?"  
  
Lem shrugged. "I don't know. She's holding a lot in. I don't know what to do for her."  
  
"Give it time," Shane advised. Although, he knew he'd feel angry and frustrated if he were in the same situation. And he'd be ready to bust some heads.  
  
"What've you got?"  
  
"I've got four possibles. Stevie came up with 7 maybes; one was fired last week and left town, two more are on vacation. We've got three that were on duty at the hospital yesterday and one who was on his days off." Shane handed Lem the computer printout Stevie had gotten.  
  
"Raul Sanchez, a dietary worker, had three arrests for domestic violence; Lydell Ramirez, a nurse aid, two arrests for stalking and B and E; Isadore Antone, laundry, attempted rape, assault and battery; and John Castillo also laundry, attempted kidnapping. Holy crap! How the hell are these people working at a hospital?"  
  
Shane shrugged. "That's the justice system for you. No convictions. I talked to the woman in personnel; she said, as long as there's no conviction, the background check they do comes back clean."  
  
"Great," Lem said, sighing. "Okay, lets go knock on some doors."  
  
*********  
They went first to the employee who'd been off yesterday, Lydell Ramirez. He lived in a housing project that could have qualified as a "little Juarez". Shane and Lem got a lot of stares pulling in to the lot.  
  
"I hope I still have rims when we come out," Shane grumbled.  
  
"Hell, I'll be glad if the truck's still here."  
  
They found Lydell's apartment. He spoke broken English and Lem spoke broken Spanish. Between them, they managed to get the point across.  
  
"He says he was with his sister and her family at a birthday party all day yesterday," Lem told Shane.  
  
"Yeah, he didn't look too rattled. Next?"  
  
They moved on to the hospital.  
Raul Ramirez worked in the kitchen. He was less than thrilled to have two cops show up at his job, but he too was cooperative, if only unfriendly.  
  
"I was on duty," he explained. "My boss and the kitchen staff will all tell you. I was here, cleaning up."  
  
Lem and Shane found the kitchen supervisor and confirmed his story.  
  
It was on to the laundry.  
  
In the laundry room, a huge structure in itself, they found many eyes on them.  
  
"Isadore Antone and John Castillo?" Lem asked, showing his badge.  
  
No one acknowledged.  
  
"Seems like no one here habla our language," Shane muttered.  
  
"Yeah, right," Lem said. He knew most of the immigrants understood most if not all that was said. But it was much easier to pretend not to. That way they could gather information without having to admit their understanding.  
  
"Okay, well habla this: if Antone and Castillo don't come talk to us right now, INS is gonna come sort out your laundry."  
  
Two men finally stepped forward after exchanging glances.  
  
"I am Antone. He is Castillo. What do you want?"  
  
"To talk."  
  
"You arrest us?"  
  
"Not yet. Think we should?" Shane shot.  
  
"We have done nothing."  
  
"You're buddy speak English?"  
  
"Some."  
  
Lem led Castillo away from the rest of the workers, who'd all gone back to their work. Shane took Antone to the other side of the room. Over the noise of the heavy duty washers and dryers, it would be difficult for anyone to hear them, but Shane and Lem kept within eye sight of each other.  
"Well?" Shane asked, when he and Lem had finished questioning the two remaining suspects.  
  
"I don't like it," Lem said with a frown, glancing back at the two employees, who were now chatting fluently in Spanish back at their work stations.  
  
"Alibiing each other?" Shane asked; that's what his suspect had done was give Castillo and alibi.  
  
Lem nodded. "Castillo says he was with Antone the whole time working in the back laundry room."  
  
Shane nodded. They walked around the huge laundry area.  
  
"Shit, you could get lost in here for a week," he muttered.  
  
"Lets check it out," Lem said. They walked around the facility, then took a different door from the way they'd come in. It was labeled "Emergency Exit", but was not alarmed.  
  
"Looks like the alarm's been disconnected," Shane said, glancing up at the mechanism.  
  
Outside the door, they discovered they were still in the basement, but could see daylight up ahead around a corner.  
  
Lem noticed the cigarette butts littered around a trash can. He figured this was where the employees came out to smoke. On a whim, he pulled a paper bag from his jacket pocket. He kept some small ones in case he found some evidence.  
  
He used his credit card to scrape some of the discarded butts into the bag.  
  
Shane looked on. He knew what Lem was thinking: DNA. If they could get a match on the DNA from one of the cigarettes to the rape kit DNA, they'd know that the rapist had been here, and was most certainly one of the laundry employees.  
  
After securing his collection, Lem and Shane continued up the passage.  
  
"Surprise surprise," Shane deadpanned, when they came out in the underground parking structure. The daylight they'd seen was the entrance/exit to the garage.  
  
"Lets get over to the lab and see if they'll run these butts."  
  
"You've still got a fiend over there right?"  
  
Lem nodded. "Yeah." He knew what Shane was thinking. " It wouldn't look too good if the S.O. finds out we're doing their job. Not to mention a warrant."  
  
"Look, if any of them match up, we'll find another way to point the finger at this guy."  
Lem explained the situation to his friend at the lab, and that was all it took for her to do the comparison.  
  
It would take some time, but she promised to get back to him as soon as possible.  
  
"I better go check on Michelle," Lem said, as evening was drawing near.  
  
Shane nodded. "Hey, I'll go pick up Stevie and we'll sit on these two jokers for awhile," he glanced at his watch. He had enough time until the laundry worker's shift ended. From the employee roster, he knew they lived at the same low income apartment complex. Between him and Stevie, they could keep the two covered.  
  
"You don't have to do that," Lem said, knowing he'd already taken up one of Shane's days off.  
  
"You'd do it for me, right?"  
  
Lem nodded.  
  
"Fine. Don't sweat it. I'll call you if anything comes up."  
*********************  
Lem went back to Michelle's condo. As he promised, he'd brought her car from the hospital parking lot. He parked the Honda next to his.  
  
He knocked on the door before using his key. He didn't want to startle her. But after turning his key, he discovered the chain was drawn from inside.  
  
"Michelle?" he called though the crack. "It's me? Babe? Are you okay?"  
  
There was still no answer.  
  
Maybe she was still sleeping. Lem used his cell phone and dialed her number, thinking that the ringing phone by her bed would wake her up if that was the case.  
  
He could hear the phone in the apartment ringing both on his phone and through the partially open door. After five rings with no response, he hung up.  
  
"Michelle!" he yelled again through the door.  
  
The condo was on a corner, second floor. There was only a window into the kitchen from the front. He glanced inside. Everything looked fine, but something was nagging at his gut.  
  
Lem dashed down the stairs and hopped the fence that led to the courtyard. That was where the fire escape came out.  
  
He took the stairs two at a time. Each condo had a balcony on the back, over looking the courtyard, divided only by a four foot high wall between. He reached the second floor balconies and climbed into the first. Michelle's apartment would be three over. He vaulted the first wall, then the second. Once on Michelle's balcony, he banged on the sliding glass door, trying it. It too had been secured with the bar in the lower slider. He went to the window that looked into her bedroom. The curtain was partially open. He saw light coming from the bathroom. He heard water running.  
  
For a moment, he was relieved, she was in the shower. Then, he saw something that made his stomach turn over: feet, not standing, but laying on the bathroom floor, just barely visible behind the door.  
  
Lem's already high adrenaline kicked into overdrive. He picked up the small wrought iron chair from the set that went with the table on the small balcony. He slammed it into the plate glass door. By now, the neighbors were looking out from the condo next door.  
  
"Hey!" a guy shouted.  
  
"Call an ambulance!" Lem yelled back, as the glass smashed to the floor. He ran inside.  
  
He raced to the bathroom. Michelle lay on the tile floor, only wearing a white bathrobe, the shower running, both arms bleeding from the wrists. A shattered glass was on the floor beside her.  
  
"No!" Lem shouted. He slid down beside her and checked her carotid artery at the neck for a pulse. There was one, but it was weak. There was a lot of blood on the floor.  
  
Lem grabbed the towels from the rack and quickly wrapped her arms to stop the bleeding. He could hear sirens wailing outside.  
  
Lem picked up her head, holding her and pulling the wrapped arms close to her body to put pressure.  
  
"Hold on baby," he said, gently rocking her. "Just hold on."  
Shane picked up Stevie, who was just getting off work at South. He explained to her what he wanted to do, and she was in. She was sick about what had happened to Michelle, whom she had only met briefly at the bar last week. They took both his truck and her Camero in case the two suspects split up.  
  
But as luck would have it, both Castillo and Antone rode to work together in an old beat up Ford. They drove from the hospital directly home, where they lived only two apartments down from each other.  
  
Stevie parked her car and then shortly came to Shane's truck. She got in and he noticed she carried a pair of jeans and running shoes.  
  
"I always keep spares," she explained. Her job in missing persons at South entailed she dress "professionally". Although she looked great in a dark blue skirt and heels, that was hardly meant for undercover work that might involve a foot pursuit.  
  
Shane took turns watching the apartments and Stevie, who slid out of her skirt, panty hose and heels and into the jeans in the front seat. She tied her Nikes and noticed him grinning.  
  
"What? It's not like you've never seen me half naked before."  
  
"Just something about a half naked woman in my truck that really turns me on," he commented, looking through binoculars now at the Castillo apartment.  
  
"You're such a pervert," she said lightly.  
  
"Yeah and you love it," he shot back.  
  
After about an hour, Castillo left his apartment and walked to Antone's, where they both went inside. Castillo had been carrying a twelve pack of beer.  
  
"Looks like they have a full night planned," Shane remarked.  
  
"I think I should go have a look in there," Stevie said.  
  
"No warrant," Shane reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, well, maybe he left the door open. I'd just be a concerned citizen. He might have left something burning on the stove, you know. Could cause the whole place to burn down."  
  
"Yeah, be a shame." He gave her an extra radio. He'd tuned his and the extra to an unused channel.  
  
"If he comes outta there, distract him or something," she said, getting out and slipping on dark leather gloves.  
  
Shane nodded. "Be careful."  
  
It was dimly lit enough that Stevie was able to move around unobserved. It was a Wednesday night, so few of the residents of the apartment complex were out drinking or doing anything that might give them a chance to notice her.  
  
Stevie made her way to Castillo's door, casually trrying the knob. It opened freely.  
  
"Well," she said, surprised. She had fully expected to have to pick it. She went inside quickly and closed the door behind her.  
  
She did a quick search of the place, turning up the usual trash, dirty laundry, porno magazines and videos, and the like. She rummaged through his closet. A shoebox on the floor caught her eye. Funny how idiots always hid stuff in shoeboxes. She hoped she'd get lucky.  
  
She opened the box and got luckier than she might have hoped. Inside was a whole baggie of women's jewelry, varied in kind and worth, a pair of slashed panties, two hair ties, and two ID badges from St Augustine's Hospital. One of them belonged to Michelle Sutton.  
  
She keyed in her radio. "Bingo," she told Shane.  
  
"Okay, get out of there."  
  
Stevie replaced the shoebox, as she knew any evidence she might get from this little breaking and entering expedition would be inadmissible in court. No, to lock this filthy bastard up, they'd need a warrant and probable cause. She left the closet and removed a small bag of marijuana from her jacket pocket. She'd 'procured' it from evidence some time back for just such a situation. She was sure that if she looked hard enough, this scum bag would probably have dope of his own around here somewhere, but that would take too long.  
  
Stevie carefully hid the baggie behind the toilet tank. Then she made tracks, carefully closing the door behind her. She made her way back to Shane's truck.  
  
"Well?" he asked, once she got inside.  
  
"He didn't leave anything burning on the stove, but he left a whole box of trophies in the closet. I'd say Michelle wasn't his first victim. But she was one of them. He's got her hospital ID badge."  
  
Shane gritted his teeth.  
  
"The shit lives in my district. Be a damn shame if I got a tip that there was drugs being sold out of his place."  
  
Shane raised an eyebrow.  
  
"If a team goes in looking fro drugs and happens to find that box," she shrugged.  
  
"Are they gonna find drugs too?" Shane wanted her to finish this nice little bedtime story.  
  
"It's a good possibility."  
  
**********************  
Lem paced again in front of the ER. He was real tired of this. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. He should have never left Michelle alone.  
  
He stood with his back against the wall, wishing he could have done things different, when Vic walked up. He held two cups of coffee and handed one to Lem. Lem was shocked to see him there.  
  
"Vic? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Couple'a uni's told me about the call."  
  
Lem hadn't even noticed who the officers were that had responded to the call from the neighbor and broken down the door to Michelle's condo, but now he vaguely recalled having seen them at the barn.  
  
"So, you ready to tell me what's going on?"  
  
Lem sighed. "I'm sorry man; I didn't want to bother you."  
  
"You know better than that," Vic said quietly. "We take care of each other."  
  
Lem nodded. "Michelle was raped last night. I took her home today.I.I thought she'd be okay. I shouldn't have left her."  
  
"You were out looking for the guy?"  
  
Lem nodded again. He knew he could get in trouble for working on a case that wasn't even his on his day off. But he didn't care.  
  
"You find him?"  
  
"We've got a couple of possibles."  
  
"Shane watching them?" Vic knew his team well.  
  
Lem nodded once more. " Good. What can I do to help?"  
  
"I don't know," he shrugged. "I can't even think any more." Vic put his hand on Lem's shoulder. "Then stop for awhile. Be with your lady. Take care of her. I'll round up Shane."  
  
The same doctor who'd taken care of Michelle last night, Dr Murphy came out of the trauma room.  
  
Lem looked at her expectantly.  
  
"She lost a lot blood, but the cuts weren't too deep. No tendons were cut. She's got sutures and she's getting a bag of platelets now. I have her sedated and we'll take her upstairs."  
  
"But she'll be okay?"  
  
"The cuts will heal," Dr Murphy said with a sigh. "But she's far from okay."  
*************  
Vic called Shane and told him what happened. Now knowing that Vic knew what was up, Shane gave him an update on the plan.  
  
"I'll get the warrant, executed on the tip, passed on to us from Detective Knight, and get a team read," Vic said. "Meet me at the barn."  
  
Vic skipped Acevedra, who'd already left for the night, in the chain and went directly to Judge Lipscomb, who was always happy to swear out a warrant for Vic. Within the hour, the warrant was ready. Vic, Ronnie and Shane suited up and took four uniformed officers with them to execute the search warrant.  
  
"Remember, we're looking for drugs, but word has it this guy's into a lot of other stuff. Bag anything suspicious," Vic told the cops. 


	3. Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE  
Since Vic and his Strike Team were executing a warrant outside their division, they had to inform South division as well; so two officers from that division joined them as well. Vic made like it was a bigger deal that the guy had been selling to kids in Farmington district.  
Vic and Ronnie smashed in Castillo's door  
  
"LAPD! On the floor!" Vic yelled, weapon trained on the Hispanic, clad in only boxers and a tee shirt.  
  
Castillo raised his hands and hit the floor.  
  
"Tear it up boys," Vic said.  
  
The cops began a through search, opening cabinets, dumping drawers and leaving nothing unturned.  
  
Shane headed for the bedroom, where Stevie had told him to look for the shoebox. The other cops spread out through the apartment.  
  
"Got some weed!" one of the South Division patrol cops yelled from the bathroom. He'd found the bag Stevie had 'left' earlier.  
  
Shane came from the bedroom in another few minutes after a courtesy toss of the room. He didn't turn up anything but the usual stash of porn and dirty clothes until he hit the shoebox.  
  
He handed it to Vic, lid off.  
  
"Look what we got here," he said.  
  
Vic looked at the assortment of jewelry and ID badges and driver's licenses. "Well, well. Looks like you've been a bad boy muchacho," Vic said, finding Michelle Sutton's ID among the rest. "Just wait till someone make you their bitch in Pelican Bay."  
Castillo remained silent and sullen.  
  
"Read this sleaze his rights," Vic told the patrol cop, hoisting the man off the floor. "And make sure he doesn't hit his head getting into the car," he deadpanned.  
******  
Lem was in the chair by the hospital bed when Michelle woke up. She blinked several times, trying to focus, then stared down at her bandaged wrists.  
  
"Oh God," she said weakly.  
  
Lem stood up, stretching every muscle in his body that screamed when he stood. "Yeah," he said, basically agreeing with her summation of the situation.  
  
She looked up at him with total devastation on her face. She looked completely shattered.  
  
"I'm so ashamed," she said quietly, her eyes not meeting his.  
  
"Why?" he asked finally. "Why did you do this?"  
  
Michelle closed her eyes and silent tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
"I.I looked in the mirror and.I was so scared. I was scared and I hurt." she wiped at her eyes, and winced as she moved her hand. "It hurt so bad on the inside, I wanted to hurt on the outside so it would stop."  
  
"Michelle, what happened to you was horrible, it was a crime. But there is no way in hell you can justify-this," he gestured to her arms.  
  
"You don't understand. What happened just brought it all back. Everything."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"After what that bastard did to me in the garage I started to remember little pieces.then, last night I looked in the bathroom mirror and it all came back." she choked on her words. "I've been raped before."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Her tears fell faster now. "When I was a kid, maybe 11 or 12. My parents had gotten divorced, my mother was dating a lot of men.this one guy, she left me alone with him.I guess, I thick, it only happened once, but.it just all came back.why I never dated in high school, why I can't trust anyone.why it hurts so bad!" she sobbed.  
  
Lem sat down on the bed beside her and took her in his arms.  
  
"I'm sorry baby," he told her, trying to soothe her.  
  
"What did I do to deserve this?" she cried. "Why am I such a bad person, to make these people hurt me?"  
  
Lem knew now how deep her scars were. "It's not your fault. You're not responsible, not now, not then. You were a child; you were not responsible for the pig that hurt you! Those guys, they're the ones who were wrong, not you. Never you."  
  
She hid her face in his shoulder. "I didn't think you could ever touch me again.I didn't think you'd have any respect for me.I'm-nothing."  
  
He picked up her chin. "Michelle, you are so far from nothing. You're a smart, beautiful, wonderful person. You have a beautiful heart. You're so strong. I have the utmost respect for you. I want to make you see that. I want to make you see that you're worth so much more than this. You can't punch yourself.you're too good for that, and I won't let you."  
  
She continued to cry for some time, and Lem held her.  
  
Finally, she was able to control her sobs, and Lem dried her eyes and her face with tissue. She looked at him then; really saw him for the first time since the attack.  
  
"You really meant what you said?"  
  
"I meant all of it." He ran a hand through his blond hair. "Michelle, I care about you. I want you to be okay again. I know it'll take time, but you're so much stronger than this. Promise me you won't give up, okay?"  
  
She nodded. "I guess I just lost it for a while."  
  
"But I don't want to lose you. Any time you forget that, just ask me."  
  
She managed a small smile then.  
*****  
"You raped those women," Shane told Castillo. He'd collected reports from the Sheriff's office of three more rapes reported in or near St Augustine's hospital. All were employees of the hospital in some capacity. Three IDs matched, including Michelle's, to Castillo's box of souvenirs. One report stated the victim was missing a silver chain with a turquoise cross, also in his shoebox.  
  
Castillo, handcuffed to the table of the interrogation room in the barn, shook his head.  
  
"You've got their stuff, ID's, necklaces. We have 4 victims, employees of St Augustine's hospital that match. But from all the trophies you took, I'd say the hospital was just the tip of the iceberg," Vic told him. He tossed Michelle's and the other IDs on the table.  
  
Castillo wouldn't look. "I find things in the laundry. People lose them."  
  
"Bull shit!" Shane yelled. "You knew their schedules, you knew when they'd be alone, and you knew your buddy Antone would lie for you!"  
  
"No!" Castillo denied.  
  
Vic was reading, or rather pretending to read, the file he held open in his hands.  
  
"So on Tuesday, you were late to work. You carpool with Antone. Whose fault was it you were late?" The question seemed to be a little off the track, and it threw Castillo. Which was just what Vic wanted.  
  
"It was Antone. The car broke down."  
  
That gave Vic the line he needed.  
  
"And who came up with the plan to stalk these women, rape them and beat them?" Shane put in.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Castillo continued to deny.  
  
"Yeah, so when we drag Antone down here, he's gonna say where you were each time a woman from the hospital was raped, that right?" Vi asked.  
  
Castillo shrugged.  
  
"I don't think he likes you enough to share a cell with you."  
  
Castillo remained quiet.  
  
"When we find all the women this stuff belongs to, and we will find all of them, you're gonna go down hard. You cop to just the 4 and we can make sure you have a nice prom date for the next ten Pelican Bay socials," Vic offered sourly.  
  
"Yeah, one with a big dick," Shane added dryly.  
  
Obvious that Castillo was going to say no more, the two detectives headed for the door.  
  
"Lets go talk to Antone," Vic said as if in disgust. "See what he coughs up."  
  
*****  
Antone, in the other interrogation room, was being played by Ronnie the whole time. "Castillo's in there right now, blaming you, telling the other cops you're the rapist," he told the man.  
  
Antone shook his head. "No."  
  
"Oh yeah, he is. The way I figure it, you and your buddy had this whole thing planned and you both took turns. One of you stalks and rapes, the other provides the alibi."  
  
"I never touched one of those women!" he denied.  
  
"Well, if Castillo says you did." he shrugged and left it hanging.  
  
About that time, Vic came in.  
  
"We've got a Tweety bird next door," he told Ronnie. He sat a tape recorder on the table. "Says it was all Antone's plan." He turned to Antone. "Yeah, your amigo says you picked out the women, got their schedules, and planned each attack."  
  
"No! He did not say those things!"  
  
Vic pressed the PLAY button on the tape player.  
  
"Who came up with the plan to stalk these women, rape them and beat them?" It was Shane's question to Castillo.  
  
"It was Antone." Was the answer Castillo gave.  
  
Vic hit STOP. With the magic of technology, he and Shane had quickly spliced the tape to make it seem as though Castillo had answered Shane's question blaming Antone.  
  
Antone was not about to take that rap.  
********  
  
"That was all it took," Vic explained to Lem later. "Antone gave up Castillo quick; told how Castillo had stalked the women, stolen their schedules from each unit and then asked him to provide an alibi in return for money."  
  
"The lab called with the DNA results too," Shane told him. "The DNA from one of the cigarette butts with Castillo's prints matched the DNA taken from Michelle and the three other victims. The lab's getting verified DNA from him now. When it matches, he'll be charged with all four counts. That plus the jewelry and ID's will put him behind bars for a long time."  
  
The Strike Team had come together in their 'clubhouse' for the first time in a week. Lem had returned to work after taking some days off to stay with Michelle.  
  
"You guys, I really appreciate this. So does Michelle. It's really gonna help her a lot."  
  
"How's she doing, anyway?" Vic asked.  
  
Lem shrugged. "It's gonna take time. She's being released from the hospital the afternoon. She's got a lot of therapy to go through."  
  
"And you? You gonna be able to stick with her?"  
  
Lem shrugged. "I care about her. I want to help her. Yeah, I'm gonna do whatever it takes."  
*******  
  
Lem and Michelle walked hand in hand in the park near her place. She looked a lot better; the bruises were healing. The bandages on her wrists were small now, just covering the healing tissue. Her scars were slower to heal. Knowing Castillo was behind bars helped with those some.  
  
"So, I've got an appointment with the counselor this evening," Michelle told him. She'd been going twice a week.  
  
"That's good."  
  
"I was.wondering if you'd come?"  
  
Lem looked down at her. He was glad to see some of the sadness gone from her eyes. He put her hand up to his face and kissed it.  
  
"You want me to?"  
  
She nodded. "I'm not sure where we go from here. I can't promise anything. I can't even give you back what we had, but we can try, right?"  
  
Lem gave her a smile. "Yeah. I'll go." He didn't know where they'd go either, but he knew he cared. Whether Michelle was 'the one' or just a beautiful friend, she had taught him so much already. And he knew that life was complicated. There were ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, and he knew that sometimes you gotta sing the blues.  
I was forgotten until you called my name.  
  
.Lost in the shadows.  
  
.Until your light shined my way.  
  
.Now I believe again.  
  
.In all my dreams again.  
  
.I'm wide eyed and innocent.  
  
.Those doubting days..  
  
.Are so far away and .Oh.  
.I will fall. .And you will catch me always. .Time has taught me this. .I will fly. .And you'll be there to guide me. .Straight up to my heart's highest wish. .I feel you close to me. .And I know what love is.  
.Now there's no mountain . .Too high for me to climb. ..No ocean so wide. .That I could not reach the other side. .Now I believe in me. .Cause you live and breathe in me. .And nothing can come between. .We are one star. .No night can darken.oh.  
.I will fall. .And you will catch me always. ..Time has taught me this.. .I will fly. .And you'll be there to guide me. .Straight up to my heart's highest wish. .I feel you close to me. .And I know what love is.  
. .It's an unspoken thing. .A quiet opening. ..There are no words that can go that deep. .But I know. ..I know ..  
. I will fall. .And you will catch me always. .Time has taught me this.. .I will fly. .I will fly.  
.And you'll be there to guide me.. .Straight up to my heart's highest wish. .I feel you close to me. ..And I know what love is.....  
Celine Dion "I Know What Love Is" written by Ric Wake, Arnie Roman on "One Heart" by Celine Dion 


End file.
